Governing: State and local government news and analysis
Several big-city mayors have announced retirements or have been defeated this year, their approval ratings driven down by the pandemic and policing.
The average number of workers available for every open job is half what it has been for the past 20 years. The government sector faces the biggest shortage of all, with 5 times as many open jobs as workers to fill them.
The Braddock Carnegie Library opened in 1889, equipped with a swimming pool, billiards room, theater and bowling alley. Nearly demolished in the 1970s, the library is undergoing a massive renovation, thanks to local help.
Federal funding formulas need to evolve to help regional governing bodies to accelerate both large and community-focused projects that have an impact across these large population clusters.
The warring camps in Washington are unlikely to find a middle ground on their own. Governors and mayors need to take a seat at the adult tax-policy table.
Experts in quantum computing say the federal government’s continued support of the emerging technology will have implications for state and local government entities, particularly as it applies to economic development.
They suffer from sexual assaults at alarming rates. The much-maligned private prison industry can have an important role to play.
Alexander Hamilton used pamphlets and broadsides to connect with constituents. Donald Trump loves Twitter. Politicians haven’t been shy about using the latest technological marvel to spread their message.
Thanks to more hybrid and remote work, some people are moving out of New York and San Francisco, but so far, there has been no exodus to Oklahoma City or Peoria, no revival of rural America or the Rust Belt.
Imperial presidents, a diminished Congress and powerful judicial review. History and its players have shaped a Constitution that might surprise the framers.
Left turns are dangerous and slow down traffic. One solution? Get rid of them. New research shows that limiting left turns at busy intersections would improve safety and reduce frustrating backups.
A school nurse's caseload can vary dramatically based on a school's size and the number of students dealing with chronic disease, poverty, housing insecurity and many other concerns.
COVID-19 proved even to skeptics that a lot of government business can be done from anywhere. So what happens to all the physical spaces that cities and states invested in to house their workforce?
The state’s public schools could be facing the largest number of teacher retirements ever, but factors like enrollment drops should take the sting out of it.
Municipal utility districts seem to work in the Lone Star State. They have increased the housing supply, using lighter regulations, resulting in downward pressure on costs. Now, they may be catching on elsewhere.
Sandy Stosz, a self-described stubborn retired vice admiral, digests the lessons in leadership from a 40-year career in the U.S. Coast Guard.
Cities and towns across the nation are reducing their hours or closing pools altogether because they cannot staff enough lifeguards. Reasons for the shortage vary but are related to fallout from the pandemic.
The breach of a Florida water treatment system that could have poisoned citizens sent shockwaves through local government. No-cost assessment tools and low-cost fixes can increase security in this sector.
Conservative efforts to keep it out of public schools amount to an esoteric cultural war aimed at dividing us further. We should teach the truth — the good and the bad — about our history.
Any new federal infrastructure program should provide states and localities with the flexibility to tap the private-sector innovation and expertise that can produce new revenues, meaningful savings and operational efficiencies.
It's gaining in popularity around the country, touted as a way to restore civility and bipartisanship. But it's not a perfect solution, and it doesn't come without costs.
No city in the country has had as much success keeping its residents safe from the coronavirus as San Francisco.
In many cases, state and local governments have more jobs than applicants. HR departments are fighting employee burnout, rising retirement and competition from the private sector to fill them.
Technology leaders in California, Colorado and Minnesota convened at NASCIO to offer best practices on bridging connectivity and digital literacy gaps in their states.
Taking away a license over unpaid fines for minor traffic infractions makes work and family life a misery for low-income Americans. States should reform this punitive, unjust practice.
It’s a bold attempt to transform cybersecurity. State and local government organizations, along with their vendors, will benefit from strengthened federal requirements.
Jealously guarded as the country's most sacred text, the highest law in the land is an artifact of history even as competing forces put demands on it to guide the country into the future.
Big tech companies like Amazon, Google, Facebook and Apple could soon face a 2 percent tax in New York state for profiting off of consumer data — if a recently proposed bill gains enough support to become law.
Body-worn cameras and freedom of information laws do enable oversight and accountability of the police, but they also hold the potential to force sensitive data and stressful episodes in private citizens’ lives into public view that’s easily accessible online.
The breach highlighted the ability of ransomware to interrupt the vital services on which Americans rely. The incident raises important legal and ethical questions surrounding ransomware payments. Just because paying off cyber attackers may be lawful in some contexts, that still doesn’t make it the morally correct thing to do.
